Engine Wiring Harness Rebuild
11-10-2011, 10:08 PM
#19
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
That's most of it but I have a couple of tips based upon mistakes that I made. I crimped and soldered all of the pins, and highly recommend doing both for a good connection.
It sucks to have to remove pins from the wires, so do yourself a favor and put all of the seals and boots on before you do anything else. The dielectric grease makes them go on much easier.
I used a generic pair of crimpers instead of buying the correct one, but they worked fine. After crimping on the first pin, I found that it was impossible to make a good solder joint without tinning the wire first. I have quite a bit of experience soldering, and it was difficult even tinning the old wires. The solder just kept balling up and rolling off. The best way I found to do it was to set the soldering iron temp higher that I normally would- about 725F, and then hold the wire facing straight up. Then with the soldering iron tip on the end of the wire, I fed a lot of solder at the top, even though it melted and fell off. Eventually enough flux would soak the wire, and the solder would flow into the strands. The first picture shows that.
The second picture shows the generic crimpers, and pins ready for installing the connector.
Third picture- the pins need to be lined up with the "slots" in line to insert into the connector.
Last picture- be sure to to put grease on the wire and seal, or they won't push in all the way.
That's about it, happy connectorizing.
It sucks to have to remove pins from the wires, so do yourself a favor and put all of the seals and boots on before you do anything else. The dielectric grease makes them go on much easier.
I used a generic pair of crimpers instead of buying the correct one, but they worked fine. After crimping on the first pin, I found that it was impossible to make a good solder joint without tinning the wire first. I have quite a bit of experience soldering, and it was difficult even tinning the old wires. The solder just kept balling up and rolling off. The best way I found to do it was to set the soldering iron temp higher that I normally would- about 725F, and then hold the wire facing straight up. Then with the soldering iron tip on the end of the wire, I fed a lot of solder at the top, even though it melted and fell off. Eventually enough flux would soak the wire, and the solder would flow into the strands. The first picture shows that.
The second picture shows the generic crimpers, and pins ready for installing the connector.
Third picture- the pins need to be lined up with the "slots" in line to insert into the connector.
Last picture- be sure to to put grease on the wire and seal, or they won't push in all the way.
That's about it, happy connectorizing.
11-11-2011, 07:07 PM
#21
Burning Brakes
Nice work Kevin!
A good connection yes, but with too much heat the wire insulation can melt back. Also if you allow the solder to travel back under the insulation, that part of the cable is now very stiff and is more likely to fracture with vibration/ movement. So I’d be careful to only tin the wire tip and prevent solder from wicking under the insulation.
The solder would not stick due to oxidation, so cleaning with a wire brush would reduce the amount of time and temperature required for a good tin.
The solder would not stick due to oxidation, so cleaning with a wire brush would reduce the amount of time and temperature required for a good tin.
11-11-2011, 11:00 PM
#22
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Thanks guys, I hope this helps someone.
Good tip, I agree and have made that mistake with larger (new) wires in other applications.
These were the most difficult wires I've ever soldered in my life. Even the ones that I cut back to where they were well protected were hard to solder. I did try scraping them with a razor blade, but even that didn't seem to break through the oxidation. In this case the higher heat made for less time, so the wire didn't get as hot farther from the end, and the solder didn't wick in very far. I tried lower temps and didn't have any luck. Some patience with a wire brush to get between the strands could help, but they're pretty delicate. I did have to strip the insulation short to allow for it to shrink back, but the solder didn't flow under the insulation past where the pins crimped over it.
This was probably about worst case- an '83 with 200K plus miles I think, so lots of age and heat. For anyone who has trouble soldering, I'd suggest starting with the worst looking wire and practicing on it to see how it goes. If it gets too short, you can always splice in a new wire. If anyone wants to see how to do a proper splice, no problem, and if anyone wants to post how yours went here, please feel free .
A good connection yes, but with too much heat the wire insulation can melt back. Also if you allow the solder to travel back under the insulation, that part of the cable is now very stiff and is more likely to fracture with vibration/ movement. So I’d be careful to only tin the wire tip and prevent solder from wicking under the insulation..
This was probably about worst case- an '83 with 200K plus miles I think, so lots of age and heat. For anyone who has trouble soldering, I'd suggest starting with the worst looking wire and practicing on it to see how it goes. If it gets too short, you can always splice in a new wire. If anyone wants to see how to do a proper splice, no problem, and if anyone wants to post how yours went here, please feel free .
11-12-2011, 04:15 AM
#23
Rennlist Member
Soldering should not be necessary with the correct crimp and will increase the risk of wire fracture especially if the solder wicks any distance up the wire.
I have the crimper pictured and it's usually for d-sub connectors. I find the jaw to be too wide for a clean crimp with the terminals used. Sargent make a better one which I only paid around $20 for.
I have the crimper pictured and it's usually for d-sub connectors. I find the jaw to be too wide for a clean crimp with the terminals used. Sargent make a better one which I only paid around $20 for.
11-12-2011, 11:57 AM
#24
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
There's no picture, can you post a link to the $20 crimpers? I've never seen any good ones that cheap.
11-12-2011, 12:30 PM
#25
Rennlist Member
Maybe not, but without the correct crimper I couldn't be sure of a good connection. The pins insert pretty far into the connector, so I don't think the wires will flex anywhere near the solder. The ground lugs were soldered from the factory also.
There's no picture, can you post a link to the $20 crimpers? I've never seen any good ones that cheap.
There's no picture, can you post a link to the $20 crimpers? I've never seen any good ones that cheap.
The crimpers that are more suitable are:
http://www.rostratool.com/itemdetail...mber=1026%20CT
11-12-2011, 09:27 PM
#27
Rennlist Member
